POWDER RECOVERY MODULE

Abstract: A powder recovery module (9) having one face (22) for removably mounting to a powder spray booth (3) wall comprises at least two tangential feed cyclone separators (11). Channel means are provided to withdraw at least some of the air-entrained powder from a position close to the floor of the booth (3) and to supply a steady flow of constant air/powder density to each of the cyclone separators (11). The cyclone separators (11) are suitably configured and disposed so as to maximise their efficiency whilst minimising the volume of the module (9) and time required to clean the cyclone separators (11) when changing to spraying with a different colour powder.

Description: POWDER RECOVERY MODULE This invention relates to powder spray coating and in particular to the recovery of powder which has not adhered to the article to be coated, from a powder spray booth. In a powder spray booth, the powder which does not adhere to the object to be coated is known as overspray'. Overspray powder may miss the object to be coated, rebound from the surface of the object, or be deflected by the electrostatic fields within the spray booth toward other grounded surfaces such as the walls of the spray booth or the conveyor system from which the objects are suspended. Filter cartridges have been used to recover overspray from powder spray booths, and these are capable of removing substantially all the overspray powder from the spray booth exhaust air so that the powder may be re¬ used. Such filter cartridges require frequent cleaning in order to prevent them from becoming blocked or clogged with powder and this is usually carried out by providing means to blow pulses of pressurised air through the filters in the reverse direction to dislodge the powder adhering thereto. Furthermore, if it is desired to change the powder for one of a different colour or grade, it is necessary to change the filter cartridges so that the powder is not contaminated. Replacing the filter cartridges with a new set of filter cartridges in the same filter module is a time- consuming process and causes delay in the powder coating operation. In order to exchange the filter cartridges with less delay, removable filter cartridge modules have been used so that when it is necessary to change the colour of powder, the existing filter module is exchanged for one which is dedicated to the particular new colour required. However, where a spray booth is used to coat a succession of objects with a number of different colours of powder, it is necessary to have a corresponding number of filter modules, which is expensive and takes up a large area for storing the modules not in use. To overcome these problems, cyclone separators have been used either instead of, or in conjunction with, filter cartridges. Such cyclone separators are effective in removing the majority of the overspray powder from the spray booth exhaust air and are easier to clean than filters because very little powder is deposited inside the cyclone housing. Heretofore, the cyclone separators used in such powder recovery modules have either been very large single or dual, side-by-side cyclones having tangential feed inlets, or of the vertical feed type wherein the air- entrained overspray powder is fed vertically downwards from a common inlet manifold into the separators, and a circumferential velocity is imparted thereto by a number of radial vanes. The overspray powder is separated from the air by the combined effects of centrifugal and gravitational forces and falls to the bottom of the separators, there to be collected and removed. The air is then directed vertically upwardly through ducts, one per cyclone separator, which pass through the centre of the vanes and into the common inlet manifold to an exhaust manifold, there to be exhausted to atmosphere or to pass through a further powder recovery module containing a number of filter cartridges to remove any fine powder particles entrained in the air. Such vertical feed cyclone separators, when arranged in a module as a cluster of small cyclones renders the module difficult to clean thoroughly in that powder tends to impinge on and adhere to, the inlet areas of the cyclones and the vanes directly below the inlet areas and to the vertical exhaust ducts, passing through the centre of the vanes. These surfaces are difficult to clean properly, particularly where there is a large number of cyclone separators because these areas are generally not easily accessible. The cleaning of such a powder recovery module, when changing the colour of powder to be recovered thereby, for example, is a lengthy process. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a powder recovery module having one face for removably mounting to a powder spray booth wall comprises at least two tangential feed cyclone separators, the cyclone separators having feed channels which lie in substantially the same horizontal plane and which taper inwardly towards the cyclone separators, at least one pair of cyclone separators being so disposed that the feed channels thereto are adjacent, the cyclone separators and the feed channels thereto being so disposed that each feed channel has a separate inlet, the inlets lying in a common plane forming at least part of the said one face of the module and being disposed close to, or towards, the ceiling of the powder spray booth when the module is mounted to the powder spray booth wall, means being provided to channel at least some of the air-entrained powder from an overspray intake located close to, or adjacent, the floor of the powder spray booth to the inlets. With such an arrangement, the use of tangential feed cyclone separators in combination with tapering feed channels thereto enables a greater proportion of oversprayed powder to be separated from the spray booth exhaust air. Additionally, the configuration and disposition of the cyclone separators and the feed channels thereto enables a comparatively large number of small cyclone separators to be mounted within a given volume of module. The geometrical arrangement of the inlets to the cyclone separator feed channels, and the configuration of the tangential feed cyclone separators, enables substantially all of the surfaces to which oversprayed powder might adhere, to be rapidly and thoroughly cleaned, by means of an air hose, for example. The channel means serves to smooth out the flow of air-entrained powder drawn from the bottom of the powder spray booth, where the flow is turbulent and the powder air density variable, so that it arrives at the inlets to the feed channels in a steady flow of constant density. Preferably the channel means is so configured as to ensure that substantially equal amounts of air-entrained powder enter the inlet to each feed channel, thereby permitting the cyclone separators to operate efficiently and the maximum amount of powder to be recovered by the module. The overspray intake may comprise one or more holes in the wall of the spray booth close to or adjacent the floor thereof, the channel means being formed by the space between the wall of the powder spray booth and the said one face of the module when the module is mounted to the powder spray booth wall. Preferably the channel means is parallel-sided so as to promote the smooth and even flow of air-entrained powder into the inlets. It has been found that, if the wall of the spray booth forming one side of the channel means is flat, turbulence is created in the spray booth to such an extent that powder is discharged from the ends of the booth. It is preferable, therefore, that the wall of the spray booth be louvred, or slatted, so as to even out the flow and to reduce turbulence. In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a powder recovery module having one face for removably mounting to a powder spray booth wall comprises at least three tangential feed cyclone separators within the module, the cyclone separators having feed channels which lie in substantially the same horizontal plane and which taper inwardly towards the cyclone separators wherein the cyclone separators are disposed in two adjacent parallel rows, a first row comprising at least two cyclone separators, the feed channels of each pair of said cyclone separators being adjacent, and a second row comprising at least one cyclone separator, the first row being disposed substantially parallel to the said one face and closer thereto than the second row. The feed channel to each cyclone separator in the second row may touch, but not intersect, a cyclone separator in the first row. Such an arrangement minimises the volume of module required to house a given number of cyclone separators whilst maintaining the advantages of efficient powder' separation and ease of cleaning afforded by tangential feed cyclone separators with tapering feed channels. It is envisaged that a powder recovery module may incorporate both the first and second aspects of the invention described above. The horizontal distance between the outermost edges of the outermost feed channels is preferably substantially less than the distance obtained by adding the diameters of each of the cyclone separators in the module. Such an arrangement maximises the number of cyclone separators which may be used for a given area- of a powder spray booth wall. Preferably, the cyclone separators are of substantially the same powder separation capacity, and differ only in the shape or configuration of their respective feed channels. The cyclone separators are preferably so disposed within the module as to discharge powder into a common powder collector. With such an arrangement, the powder can be easily removed for re-use. Preferably, the common powder collector is an inverted cone removably carried on a wheeled frame or dolly. When the collector is sealed to the cyclones it is lifted by air pistons up off the dolly. This is superior to other recovery cart designs such as is shown, for example, in Canadian Patent Application 2,080,977 where the entire weight of the recovery cart, including the wheels, must be lifted up off the floor. In use powder is pumped from the bottom of the hopper to the main powder feed hopper for re-use. Another advantage of such an arrangement is that when changing colours, the conical hopper is lightweight enough to be easily lifted off the dolly and removed for cleaning the dusting of powder left in the hopper. The conical hopper is then placed back in the dolly and sealed to the cyclones, which have by now also been cleaned so that once the booth is cleaned, the system is ready for the next colour of powder. The advantage of this design over common recovery hopper designs for other multi-cyclone collectors such as those shown in US Patent No. 4,509,292 and European Patent No. 0350628 Bl is that a recovery hopper for each colour is not required. Instead, a single recovery hopper can be used for all colours of powder which saves considerable cost. The cyclone separators preferably discharge the exhaust air into a common air exhaust manifold. The air from this manifold may be exhausted direct to atmosphere, or a further filter system, which may comprise a removable filter cartridge module, which may be provided in order to separate the remaining small amount of powder from the exhaust air. The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures la, lb and lc are, respectively, a schematic front elevation, plan and end elevation of a powder spray coating apparatus comprising a powder recovery module in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is an end elevation, similar to that of Figure lc, but showing the powder recovery module replaced by a filter cartridge powder recovery module; Figures 3a to g are schematic plans of powder recovery modules in accordance with the invention and showing the disposition of different numbers of tangential feed cyclone separators; Figures 4a and 4b are schematic front and rear elevations of a powder recovery module in accordance with the invention having four cyclone separators, and Figure 5 is a cross-section along the line V-V of Figure 4a. The electrostatic powder spray coating apparatus generally indicated at 1 shown in Figures la to lc comprises a spray booth 3 having a conveyor 5 (see Figure lc) from which objects (not shown) are suspended and conveyed through the booth 3 where they are coated with powder by a number of spray devices 7. The rear wall of the booth opposite the spray gun openings (see Fig. 2) has a large opening 6 framed by a rectangular lip 4 which projects about five inches (about 13cm) out from the side of the booth. A compressible gasket (not shown) is carried on the rearward edge of this lip. The forward face 22 of a powder recovery module 9, shown here as containing six tangential feed cyclone separators 11, all disposed in the same horizontal plane, is compressed and sealed against this gasket by clamps (not shown) which are carried on lip 4. Also mounted to the booth 3 is a further powder recovery module 13 containing a number of filter cartridges 15. Exhaust air and air-entrained oversprayed powder is induced by the fan 21 to flow from the spray booth 3, through the modules 9, into a hood 16, which is supported in cantilever fashion from the wall of booth 3, and from there into module 13, as indicated generally by the arrows. The powder cyclone module is removable, and is sealed against the lip 4 as described above for air and powder entering the cyclones 11 and against the hood 16 for air leaving the cyclones 11 by a vertically movable lifter (not shown) having a flexible seal or gasket which provides an air-tight seal. Overspray is drawn into the cyclone separators 11 from the booth 3 by being drawn through an overspray intake 18, which is formed between the bottom edge of a louvred, or slatted, plate 29, which is removably secured across the upper two-thirds of opening 5, and the bottom edge of lip 4. The overspray intake 18 thus comprises a rectangular opening positioned near the floor of the booth. Overspray is also drawn through the louvres (schematically illustrated) of the plate 29, which reduces turbulence in the booth by promoting a smoother and more even flow of air-entrained powder into the inlets 27 of the cyclone separators 11. The plate 29 may, for example, be provided with holes which are slipped on to corresponding fixed pegs angled upwards from the interior wall of the booth so that the plate can be easily hung on the back wall of the booth to cover the upper two-thirds of opening 6, or removed from the booth for reasons explained below. Oversprayed powder passes from inlet 18 and through the louvres in the plate 29 up the slot or gap formed between the plate 29 and the forward face 22 of module 9 into the inlets 27 (see Fig. 4b) to the cyclone separators 11 and along tapering feed channels 17 (see Figure lb) which also lie in the same horizontal plane. The slot or gap between the louvred plate 29 and module 9 is bounded along the top and sides by the lip 4. The position of the overspray intake 18 close to, or adjacent, the floor of the booth 3 is advantageous because oversprayed powder within the booth 3 tends to fall under the influence of gravity towards the floor of the booth 3. The vertical channel serves to even out the flow of air-entrained powder drawn from the booth 3 so that a substantially constant and equal flow of air-entrained powder is delivered into each of the feed channels 17. The taper of the feed channels 17 accelerates the overspray as it enters the cyclone separators 11, enhancing the powder separating efficiency thereof. The oversprayed powder, under the influence of centrifugal and gravitational forces, falls to the bottom of the cyclone separators 11 where it is collected in one or more cone- shaped containers 19 for eventual re-use. The container(s) 19 are each mounted on a wheeled cradle or dolly, 20 so that it/they may be moved away from the module 9 in order to recover the powder therefrom for re¬ use. Container 19 is an inverted cone which is mounted onto cradle 20 by gravity. Powder can be pumped out of the bottom of container 19 through an outlet 24 (see Fig. 4a) by means of pump (not shown) to a sieving device for re-use. Any powder which cannot be pumped out of the container 19 at the end of a colour run can be removed by switching off fan 21, thereby removing the suction effect in the cyclones 11, lifting the light -weight container 19 up off cradle 20 and cleaning the powder out of container 19 either using a vacuum cleaner, or by blowing the powder out in a ventilated area. The clean container 19 can then be placed back on cradle 20 and wheeled under the cyclone module 9. Air pistons 26 can then be actuated to engage a flange '28 projecting from the outer edge of container 19 to seal container 19 to the cyclones. Since the container 19 is relatively lightweight an effective seal is more easily produced with less energy consumption. Preferably, container 19 is made of thin gauge stainless steel which enables container 19 to be strong, light and to resist powder adhesion thereto. The fan 21 can then be restarted and spraying can begin again. During the normal operation of the booth, the exhaust air, which contains only a small amount of oversprayed powder, passes from the cyclone separators 11 in the powder recovery module 9 into the powder recovery module 13, within which the remaining powder is filtered out by the filter cartridges 15. The clean exhaust air is then drawn out of the system by the fan 21 and exhausted to atmosphere. It has been found that such tangential feed cyclone separators are up to 97% efficient, that is they separate up to 97% of the oversprayed powder from the spray booth exhaust air passed through them, and most of this separated powder can be recovered in the containers 19 for re-use. A small proportion of the powder adheres to the internal surfaces of the cyclone separators 11, which has to be cleaned before the powder is changed to another colour. Cleaning separators 11 is necessary so that the second colour of powder recovered in the container 19 is not contaminated by the first colour of powder previously adhering to the inside of the cyclone separators 11. The configuration and disposition of the cyclone separators 11 of this invention, therefore, is such that any adhered powder can easily be cleaned off, as described below. The powder recovery module 9 has a face 22 which is adapted for removably mounting to the lip 4 on the back wall of the spray booth 3, as described above, and the module 9 is mounted on wheels 23 so that it may be moved for cleaning. The powder spray booth 3 may be configured so that the powder recovery module 9 in accordance with the invention may be replaced with a conventional filter cartridge powder recovery module 25, as shown in Figure 2, in order to recover substantially all of the oversprayed powder during long runs of a particular colour of powder substantially all of which the user would like to recover. In these cases, the user would have one cartridge module 25 for each colour of powder and would use the cyclone module 9 for all other colours of powder with the majority of the oversprayed powder of these other colours collected from the bottom of cyclone module 9, and the remainder of the overspray exhausted out of the top of cyclone module 9 into the common final filter module 13 where it would be mixed together and scrapped. When the cartridge module 25 is utilised the plate 29 would be removed from the back of the booth wall because a rectangular inlet is already provided in the lower portion of the forward face of module 25 below the lower end of the cartridges 15. Thus, when a filter cartridge module 25 is in use, air-entrained powder is drawn from the booth 3 into the filter cartridges 15 at a level adjacent the floor of the booth 3 (as shown by the arrows in Figure 2) . Substantially all of the powder is trapped by the filters 15 in the module 25 and the filtered air is drawn from the module 25 and thence through the recovery module 13 as described above. Figures 3a to g illustrates the disposition and arrangement of between 2 and 8 tangential feed cyclone separators 11,ll 7 within a powder recovery module 9 in accordance with the invention. Each cyclone separator 11 has a 1000 cubic foot per minute capacity and is disposed in the same horizontal plane. It will be seen that a minimum of two cyclone separators 11 are provided, with pairs of cyclones 11 having adjacent tapering feed channels 17 in a first row of cyclones 11 adjacent the face 22 of the module which is mounted to the spray booth (not shown) and further cyclones ll 7 being arranged in a second row adjacent, parallel to and behind the first row, the tapering feed channels 17' to the cyclones 11' in the second row being in the same horizontal plane as the feed channels 17 in the first row and configured so as to touch but not intersect the outer wall of a cyclone 11 in the first row. Such a configuration enables the maximum number of cyclones 11, 11' to fit within the volume of the module 9. Figures 4a, 4b and 5 illustrate a powder recovery module 9 comprising four cyclone separators as in Fig. 3c, in more detail, and shows the wheeled powder container 19 more clearly. The face 22 of the module 9 which is removably mounted to the booth 3 is shown in Figure 4b, and the inlets 27 to the feed channels 17 are coplanar with this face. The configuration and disposition of the cyclone separators 11 and the feed channels 17 is such that the distance between the outermost edges of the outermost inlets 27 is less than the combined diameters of the four cyclone separators 11. In order to clean the powder recovery module 9 it is only necessary, once the module 9 has been demounted from the side of the booth 3, to blow clean air into each of the inlets 27, and over the flat face of the module 9 therebetween. It is a simple and quick operation to direct a high pressure air hose into each inlet 27 and this will clear substantially all the powder which has adhered to the internal surfaces of the cyclones, the majority of which will lie on the surfaces of the feed channels 17 and on the internal wall of the cyclone separators 11 immediately opposite the feed channels 17. The design of the powder recovery module 9 is such that there are no other areas which require substantial cleaning, any minor amounts of powder which adhere to other areas of the cyclone separators 11 may be removed easily by removing container 9 with the fan 21 turned off and then turning fan 21 on again; this causes a rush' of air through the bottom of the cyclone 11 and into hood 16, which is effective to remove any powder remaining in the cyclones 11. Given the above description, a quick and efficient powder colour change can be accomplished as follows. Firstly, the spraying of the first colour of powder through the powder spraying devices 7 is ceased. The powder supply lines to the spray devices 7 and the devices themselves are cleaned to be made ready to spray powder of a different colour, as is known in the art. Next the inside of the booth 3 is cleaned by an operator with a high pressure air hose and/or brushes. This is done by the operator entering the booth 3. Whilst this is going on, fan 21 is still operating to draw away powder. The operator cleans the slatted panel 29 and then removes it so as to clean the forward face 22 of the recovery module 9 and the inlets 27 of the cyclones 11. The fan 21 is then switched off so that the container 19 can be lowered and removed for cleaning, as described above. The operator then cleans the bottom portion of the module 9 where the container 19 was located using a vacuum cleaner, and then the fan 21 is switched on again. This causes a rush of air up through the cyclones 11 which removes any remaining powder residues within the cyclones 11. The fan 21 is then switched off again briefly so as to replace cleaned container 19. Once the fan 21 is switched on once more, the apparatus is clean and ready to operate using a second colour powder.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A powder recovery module having one face for removably mounting to a powder spray booth wall and comprising at least two tangential feed cyclone separators, the cyclone separators having feed channels which lie in substantially the same horizontal plane and which taper inwardly towards the cyclone separators, at least one pair of cyclone separators being so disposed that the feed channels thereto are adjacent, the cyclone separators and the feed channels thereto being so disposed that each feed channel has a separate inlet, the inlets lying in a common plane forming at least part of the said one face of the module and being disposed close to, or towards, the ceiling of the powder spray booth when the module is mounted to the powder spray booth wall, means being provided to channel at least some of the air- entrained powder from an overspray intake close to, or adjacent, the floor of the powder spray booth to the inlets. ' 2. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 1 comprising at least three tangential feed cyclone separators wherein the cyclone separators are disposed in two adjacent parallel rows, a first row comprising two or more cyclone separators, the feed channels of said cyclone separators being adjacent, and a second row comprising at least one cyclone separator, the first row being disposed substantially parallel to the said one face and closer thereto than the second row. 3. A powder recovery module having one face for removably mounting to a powder spray booth wall comprising at least three tangential feed cyclone separators within the module, the cyclone separators having feed channels which lie in substantially the same horizontal plane and which taper inwardly towards the cyclone separators wherein the cyclone separators are disposed in two adjacent parallel rows, the first row comprising at least two cyclone separators having feed channels which are adjacent, and the second row comprising at least one cyclone separator, the first row being disposed substantially parallel to the said one face and closer thereto than the second row. 4. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 3 wherein means are provided to channel at least some of the air entrained powder from an overspray inlet close to, or' adjacent, the floor of the powder spray booth to the inlets. 5. A powder recovery module as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the channel means is substantially parallel-sided. 6. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the channel means comprises a rectangular lip around an aperture in the spray booth wall to which the said one face of the module is removably mounted, at least the upper portion of the aperture being closed off by a removable panel mounted substantially parallel to the said one face of the module. ' 7. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the removable panel is louvred. 8. A powder recovery module as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the horizontal distance between the outermost edges of the outermost feed channels is less than the distance obtained by adding the diameters of each of the cyclone separators in the module. 9. A powder recovery module as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cyclone separators discharge powder into one or more common powder collectors. 10. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the or each common powder collector comprises a container carried on a wheeled frame, or dolly. 11. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 10 comprising means to drive the container upwardly away from the wheeled frame to form an air seal against the bottom surface of the cyclone module. 12. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 10 or 11 wherein the container is conical. 13. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 10, 11 or 12 wherein the container is formed of thin-gauge stainless steel. 14. A powder recovery module as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cyclone separators discharge air into a common air exhaust manifold. 15. A powder recovery module as claimed in Claim 12 comprising means for mounting a filter cartridge module to the air exhaust manifold.

Inventors: FROST IVAN E, PERRIN ROBERT E, FROST, IVAN, E., PERRIN, ROBERT, E.
Applicants: FROST IVAN E, NORDSON CORP, PERRIN ROBERT E, FROST, IVAN, E., NORDSON CORPORATION, PERRIN, ROBERT, E.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B05B15
IPC codes: B04C5, B05B15